A communication network includes paths of nodes that route packets through the network. An inventory describing the paths of a network may be generated to keep track of the paths. Known techniques of generating a path inventory include running complicated software programs that trace the paths of the network. Running these software programs, however, may be time consuming. For example, running a program for a network with 100 to 150 network elements may take up to 29 hours. Accordingly, these known techniques are typically not efficient. It is generally desirable to have efficient techniques for generating a path inventory.